~~The MIAA “A” 2021~~

[pcowlax]

1200 boys, an FCA feeder program and a good coach are a recipe for continued success. Gonna be tough for any team in the MIAA to knock them off their perch. Maybe BL, LB, GIL, SM or McD get lucky and catch them on an off day. Probably not.

As a longtime MIAA fan but not an insider, what has changed over the past few years? Certainly there have been dynasties in the MIAA/MSA past but the more common state of affairs has been turnover at the top (albeit among 5 or 6 teams, a few are never really in the running). I am not aware of Calvert Hall having significantly expanded in size. Has the feeder program changed in some way? Have other schools' feeders fallen off? Are kids traveling further to come there? Is it the moving/retiring of top coaches at other schools? Is every boy on the team now part Kelly? I'm very interested to hear thoughts from those closer than I to the scene, why is CH all of a sudden so dominant?

[SkipPass]

[As a longtime MIAA fan but not an insider, what has changed over the past few years? Certainly there have been dynasties in the MIAA/MSA past but the more common state of affairs has been turnover at the top (albeit among 5 or 6 teams, a few are never really in the running). I am not aware of Calvert Hall having significantly expanded in size. Has the feeder program changed in some way? Have other schools' feeders fallen off? Are kids traveling further to come there? Is it the moving/retiring of top coaches at other schools? Is every boy on the team now part Kelly? I'm very interested to hear thoughts from those closer than I to the scene, why is CH all of a sudden so dominant?
[/quote]

Don't know. I think the FCA feeder program has made a big impact. When you are coaching the HS team and the club teams through the summer it makes a difference. I'd also imagine winning attracts some players to the school that might not have gone their otherwise. Whatever they are doing - it certainly is working. BL becoming a boarding school will change the landscape after awhile. But for now...

[kramerica.inc]

You have runs from many teams. CH has been the beneficiary of many good circumstances. Many of their own creation, hard work and doing. The run was wholly earned, But they definitely capitalized on a transitioning MIAA and we’re the right team, at the right spot, at the right time.

What teams haven’t had a major transition or change in their program in the last 3-4 years while CH has made the run?

The only one I can think of is McD.

[Raescreek]

I think CHC's dominance can be attributed to a few things, in no particular order:

-CHC is able to offer a lot of athletic aid. The CHC Lax Crease Club raises a ton of money to be given out
-CHC tuition is less than half the price of some of the MIAA competition. Add athletic aid to that cheaper tuition, and an increasingly popular school, and many parents are opting for the cheaper alternative. The private schools that charge $30k plus are having more and more trouble attracting top athletes because full rides really don't exist...Most parents still have to pay 1/4 of the school's tuition.
-CHC is putting more kids into big D1 programs than any other school - helps with recruiting
-BK and his staff are really good at recruiting. They have dedicated faceoff, goalie and even shooting coaches that work with their players year-round
-FCA has built a premier club experience, for a cheaper cost than some of the other programs, like Crabs. FCA also offers the spiritual/moral player development, which attracts parents, and they like what they see from the Kelly family, so they opt for CHC
-Snowball effect. All these positives continue to snowball

[kramerica.inc]

Yes to all those points.

CHC's starting price is cheaper than most in the MIAA. Most MIAA customers fall in two categories- Those looking at Catholic schools and those looking at the others. Probably because of the religious angle AND the major difference in prices between Catholic and other. The Catholic schools are almost half price...to start.

Cheap matters in the MIAA somewhat. But in a real weird way- I can't tell you how short-sighted many lax parents are. In the Archdiocese schools, I've seen parents lobby financial aid departments and coaches, and ultimately choose the cheapest school for their kid. Can't tell you how many parents make that decision for their kid and are willing to add a significant commute or send their kid out of town to save a few hundred dollars a year. Makes no sense to me. But I've seen the same for the parents that are looking at the non-Catholic schools too. So maybe it's a lax thing.

Penny wise. Pound foolish. But to each their own, I guess.

Here are some tuition numbers from a year or two ago to see where the schools generally fell on the cost scale:

$30,720 McDonough
$30,550 Gillman
$29,800 St Pauls
$29,500 BL
$26,970 Severn
$21,175 Loyola
$16,800 John Carroll
$16,650 Calvert Hall
$16,365 Spalding
$15,700 MSJ
$14,152 St M

[Lax_04]

We did this on the old board and it seemed like a good time to re-post.

Please provide any corrections and I will edit the post.

Approximate Boys Enrollment per Grade.

CHC: 300
MSJ: 265
L-B: 167
AS: 153
GIL: 105-110
JC: 82
McD: 75
BL: 75
STP: 67
STM: 65
SEV: 53

Note 1: L-B total edited per post below, was originally listed as 250.
Note 2: Gil total edited per post below, was originally listed as 80.

[Lax_04]

Playoff Appearances in the past 5 years 

BL 5 
CHC 5 
McD 5 
L-B 5 
SM 4 
SP 4 
SEV 2 
AS 0
GIL 0 
JC 0
MSJ 0

* Really missing LaxPower right about now.

[Lax_04]

MIAA Championships / Appearances in the past 5 years 

CHC 3 / 3
McD 1 / 3
SM 1 / 2
BL 0 / 2
AS 0 / 0
GIL 0 / 0
JC 0 / 0
L-B 0 / 0
MSJ 0 / 0
SEV 0 / 0
SP 0 / 0

[kramerica.inc]

CH and John Carroll have some games starting next week. Any others getting rolling sooner?

[Raescreek]

How Calvert Hall Set a New Standard of Excellence: https://www.uslaxmagazine.com/high-scho ... excellence

[pcowlax]

Interesting article, thanks for posting it

[kramerica.inc]

How did St Paul’s do against Gonzaga yesterday?

[Peter Brown]

I'm not much of a high school poster here, but I thought I would point something out, and hopefully there are some New Yorkers lurking here at the MIAA board.

NY friends of mine used to complain that Maryland teams would never venture north during spring break. Well, as luck would have it, they're coming north this year! St. Paul's (which seems to be the most adventurous MIAA program so far as travel to New York) is scheduled for the following games:

Friday, 3/20: 4pm game against Iona Prep, 255 New Wilmot Rd., New Rochelle, NY
Saturday, 3/21: 11am game against Yorktown High School, 2727 Crompond Rd, Yorktown Heights, NY

(friend of mine just forwarded me an email detailing this)

Good luck to the Crusaders and good going, Coach!

[Maverick]

We did this on the old board and it seemed like a good time to re-post.

Please provide any corrections and I will edit the post.

Approximate Boys Enrollment per Grade.

CHC: 300
MSJ: 265
L-B: 250
AS: 153
JC: 82
GIL: 80
McD: 75
BL: 75
STP: 67
STM: 65
SEV: 53

I believe Loyola is less than 200 per class. The total enrollment of 1000 includes the middle school

[kramerica.inc]

MIAA opens tomorrow.

SSSA (VA) @ Loyola
St. Albans @ Severn

[Slim]

I'm not much of a high school poster here, but I thought I would point something out, and hopefully there are some New Yorkers lurking here at the MIAA board.

NY friends of mine used to complain that Maryland teams would never venture north during spring break. Well, as luck would have it, they're coming north this year! St. Paul's (which seems to be the most adventurous MIAA program so far as travel to New York) is scheduled for the following games:

Friday, 3/20: 4pm game against Iona Prep, 255 New Wilmot Rd., New Rochelle, NY
Saturday, 3/21: 11am game against Yorktown High School, 2727 Crompond Rd, Yorktown Heights, NY

(friend of mine just forwarded me an email detailing this)

Good luck to the Crusaders and good going, Coach!

SP has been doing it for years. Broccatto opened that up and believed in growing the game.

[kramerica.inc]

I'll pick LB and St Albans for the wins.

[kramerica.inc]

Almost everyone in action this week with both John Carroll and CH heading south to Duke and UNC for some games!

Thu:
Ponte Verde (FL) @ Gilman 4 pm
Loyola[/b] @ Good Counsel 5:45 pm
John Carroll @ Norfolk Academy (VA) 8 pm @ Duke University

Fri:
Lake Norman (NC) vs CH TBA @ UNC
Spalding @ St. Stephen's/St. Agnes (VA) 4:30 pm
Holly Springs (NC) vs John Carroll 4:30 pm @UNC
Loyola @ Cardinal Gibbons (NC) 6 pm
Georgetown Prep @ St M's 7 pm

Sat:
Lake Norman (NC) vs Loyola 10 am @ Cardinal Gibbons High School (NC)
Durham Academy (NC) vs John Carroll 10 am @UNC
Charlotte Catholic (NC) @ Severn 10 am
Ponte Verde (FL) @ BL 11 am
St P's @ Landon 11 am
St. Christopher's (VA) vs CH TBA @UNC
Gonzaga @ McD 3:30 pm

[kramerica.inc]

Severn holds serve at home and beats St Albans 10-7:

https://twitter.com/scores_lax/status/1 ... 49280?s=21

[Matnum PI]

Any news on the St Marys Ryken v. Landon game?